WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER 3,374,995 VISITS IN ONE YEAR—65,000 VISITS A WEEK BY 985,281 VISITORS

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WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. By John F. Bailey. June 11, 2003: Mayor Joseph Delfino, appearing before the Council of Neighborhood Associations, reported last night that the Department of Public Safety had issued 2,400 summonses for speeding within the White Plains city limits since the start of Operation Safe Streets April 16. The Mayor added that 70% of the speeding violations were committed by motorists living in the city.

“We’re going to continue it,” the Mayor said, saying some 24 officers were now radar-trained and that the program was having an effect on making White Plains streets safer.

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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS CAPPELLI CHRONICLES. June 10, 2003: Alex Philippidis, Editor of Westchester County Business Journal and White Plains Week news personality reports that in his exclusive post Westchester County Association Annual Spring Dinner interview with Super Developer Louis Cappelli, Mr. C. told him he was planning to turn his 35-story City Center apartment tower from 300 apartments into 150-condominium apartments.

WESTCHESTER COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL’S Philippidis said Mr. Cappelli was “close” to acquiring $85 Million to build to erect the second of his twin ziggurats at his “signature” City Center complex in the heart of White Plains last week, and also broke the story of Cappelli switching the building to “All-Condo” on Monday evening’s White Plains Week cablecast on WPPA-TV . White Plains “Spirit of 76.”
Photo by WPCNR STAGE CAM

In his bylined Page 3 dispatch in Westchester Business Journal this week, Mr. Philippidis says Mr. Cappelli reports he plans to sell the condominium units for $600,000 and up for a 1-bedroom unit with the condo apartments being about double the size of previously approved rental units in the tower.

NORTH TOWER OF CITY CENTER RISING ON MAIN STREET: It’s companion building is planned to go “all-condo”.
Photo by WPCNR News

A Council member, speaking on condition of anonymity speculated that a quid quo pro might be in order to make some of the condos “working families housing,” since the precedent was set in granting devoloper Frank Cantatore approval for condominiums at 10 Windsor Terrace in exchange for a $20,000 contri bution towards “Working Families Housing.”

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WPCNR’S ADAM IN ALBANY. By District 89 Assemblyman Adam T. Bradley. June 7, 2003:New York’s fight against illegal drugs is far from over. Despite our best efforts, drug addiction and drug-related crimes continue to plague our communities. Unfortunately, our approach to combating drugs has not changed much in decades. New York’s antiquated Rockefeller drug laws fail to address the underlying problem of addiction.

Since their enactment in 1973, the Rockefeller drug laws have become infamous for their severe and inflexible mandatory minimum sentences. The law has been criticized as being unnecessarily harsh and counterproductive. Its mandatory sentencing has often led first-time nonviolent drug offenders to receive prison terms longer than murderers and rapists.

In an effort to make the law more effective, the Assembly passed a plan to reform New York’s antiquated Rockefeller drug laws, allowing judges to sentence some non-violent, lower-level offenders to mandatory drug treatment programs as a potential alternative to prison. The plan is expected to save New York $164 million annually, alleviating crowded prisons while cracking down on violent offenders and treating the causes of drug-related crime.

After 30 years, it’s time to acknowledge that mandatory prison sentences do not cure drug addiction. And in terms of reducing crime, research shows that treatment is a much more effective and less costly alternative to incarceration. This measure frees the court to decide the most appropriate sentence – to make the punishment fit the crime.

A 1997 Rand Corporation study that found drug treatment was 15 times more effective than mandatory sentencing in reducing serious crimes committed against people and property by drug offenders. Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman has estimated that graduates of the drug court diversion program operated by the court system commit two-thirds fewer crimes than drug offenders who are simply incarcerated for a period of time.

The Assembly bill (A.7078) would:

• Give judges and prosecutors discretion in recommending drug treatment as a potential alternative to prison;
• Create a new drug-related Class B-II felony for certain lower level sale or possession cases involving relatively small amounts of narcotics; and
• Give judges more flexibility in sentencing individuals on Class B and lower felonies.

New York has achieved great success in reducing crime – especially violent crime – in recent years. We can build on this success by working to eliminate the problem of substance abuse, which lies at the core of most criminal behavior.

Treating the causes of crime

Under these drug law reforms, prosecutors will have the ability to recommend and judges may order certain drug offenders, whose non-violent crimes resulted from drug abuse, to treatment programs as an alternative to a mandatory state prison term.

The plan allows prosecutors to first review whether or not a non-violent drug offender should be diverted from prison to drug treatment. A judge would then make the final determination on whether an offender is placed in mandatory drug treatment as a potential alternative to prison.

Combating drug-related gun violence

Recognizing the deadly connection between the drug trade and firearms, the new legislation imposes a mandatory minimum five-year prison sentence for anyone convicted of possessing a loaded handgun with the intent to use it while selling or attempting to sell drugs. The plan also retains life sentences for drug kingpins who engage in major drug trafficking.

I am confident that reforming the Rockefeller drug laws is a more effective approach to fighting drugs in New York, and urge the Senate and the governor to join the Assembly in the long-overdue effort to reform these harsh and draconian laws. These laws have ruined lives and failed to solve the drug epidemic facing our communities.

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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS LAW JOURNAL. June 6, 2003: The White Plains Legal Department reports that “all the briefs are in” on the Citizens for Open Space Article 78 lawsuit in Supreme Court to force the Common Council to reexamine their decision to permit New York Presbyterian Hospital to construct a biotech research facility and proton accelerator cancer treatment facility deep within its pristine grounds. The city has filed its “answer” to Attorney Thomas Wyatt’s motion to block the approval based on the approval being a violation of zoning. It is with the judge, and Corporation Counsel Edward Dunphy expects a decision in about two months.

Meanwhile back in Appellate Court in Brooklyn, the Appellate Court received the Attorney General’s rebuttal to Thomas Abinanti’s motion to dismiss the Attorney General’s Quo Warranto action on behalf of deposed councilman Larry Delgado as being filed past the statute of limitations for actions against the state.

Jeffrey Binder, Mr. Delgado’s attorney, lauds the Attorney General’s brief as being quite thorough going back to the 1700s in its summation of cases. Binder said he expects Mr. Hockley to be removed from the Council shortly by Judge Francis Nicolai, pending an expected Appellate Court denial of Abinanti’s motion.

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WPCNR WEATHER SCOOP. From WPCNR Weather. June 5, 2003: The sun officially appeared from behind breaks in the overcast today at 2:33 P.M, and has been shining on the White Plains area for 45 minutes. It was only the third day when the sun has shown in the last 7, after two days of desultory showers and dismal weather.

A spokesman for the sun said that it’s partial appearance would be only brief with a one-day engagement tomorrow.

The National Weather Service still calls for possible showers early this evening, with partly sunny skies called for on Friday with showers likely to return Saturday afternoon.

CHARISMATIC CELEBRITY: The Sun breaks through at 2:33 P.M. in White Plains A spokesman for the sun said that it’s partial appearance would be only brief with a one-day engagement tomorrow.
Photo by WPCNR WeatherScoop

PEONY BASKS IN SUNLIGHT: Sodden White Plains flowers dried themselves out Thursday afternoon after taking only 3 days of sunshine in the last 7, and putting up with 5-1/4 inches of rain in the last week.

Photo by WPCNR WeatherScoop